Johnson has been a member of the Bowdoin faculty since 1964. He was named to the Isaac Henry Wing Chair in 1989. In addition to his 33 years of teaching and research, Johnson has contributed to the Bowdoin community through his work on a wide variety of College committees, including serving as a faculty representative to the Board of Overseers and the Board of Trustees; as a member of the Committee on Sexual Harassment and Assault, the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee, and the Search Committees for President and Dean of Students; and, most recently, as chair of the Budget Priorities Committee.

The Alumni Award for Faculty and Staff was established in 1963 by the Alumni Council and is presented annually "for service and devotion to Bowdoin, recognizing that the College in a larger sense includes both students and alumni."